Medical image management system
A method of managing medical information is disclosed. Medical image data is received, at a real-time transfer engine, at the same time that the patient is being scanned by a medical imaging device. The medical image data is then converted to a browser-compatible image format at a converter engine connected to receive the medical image data from the real-time transfer engine. The converter engine comprises a decoder engine for extracting image pixel data from the medical image data and an encoding engine for converting the image pixel data to a browser-compatible format connected to receive the image pixel data. The image pixel data may be converted to a browser compatible format without loss of diagnostic data.
1. A method of managing medical information, comprising:
receiving at a first computer a plurality of image series resulting from a patient medical imaging procedure, each image series comprising one or more digital medical images in a format that is incompatible with displaying in an Internet web browser;
providing a pointer associated with the patient medical imaging procedure;
in response to user selection of the pointer at a second computer,
providing an Internet web page for display in an Internet web browser on the second computer, the Internet web page forming a user interface for a medical image workstation when displayed in the Internet web browser without requiring software executing outside the Internet web browser on the second computer, the user interface comprising a rectangular grid of one or more rows and one or more columns for simultaneously displaying a plurality of navigational images in the user interface of the Internet web page, and
providing to the user the plurality of navigational images for display in the user interface of the Internet web page, the plurality of navigational images corresponding to different ones of the image series from the patient medical imaging procedure, the plurality of navigational images comprising a format that is compatible for displaying in an Internet web browser without requiring software executing outside the Internet web browser on the second computer, the plurality of navigational images being converted to a browser compatible format before being transmitted over the Internet; and
in response to user selection of one of the plurality of navigational images, providing to the user the one or more digital medical images of the image series associated with the selected one of the navigational images for display in the user interface of the Internet web page, the one or more digital medical images comprising a format that is compatible for displaying in the Internet web browser without requiring software executing outside the Internet web browser on the second computer, the one or more digital medical images providing medical information to the user, the one or more digital medical images being converted to a browser compatible format before being transmitted to the second computer,
wherein the medical image workstation enables user navigation among the plurality of navigational images and the one or more digital medical images of the image series to permit medical diagnosis from the one or more digital medical images without requiring software executing outside the Internet web browser.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the navigational images comprise single frame images.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the navigational images comprise a plurality of movie frames displayable in a loop in the user interface.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the navigational images depict heart motion.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the navigational images is associated with time-varying quantities.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein in response to user selection of one of the plurality of navigational images the provided digital medical image comprises a single frame image.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein in response to user selection of one of the plurality of navigational images the provided one or more digital medical images comprises a plurality of movie frames displayed in a loop in the user interface.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the movie comprises a frame rate chosen to simulate motion of an organ of interest.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the movie comprises a frame rate chosen to depict time-varying quantities.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a pointer comprises providing the pointer in an Internet web page.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a pointer comprises providing the pointer in an email message.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of providing a pointer comprises providing the pointer in a text message.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pointer is an Internet URL.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the medical imaging procedure comprises one of magnetic resonance imaging, echocardiographic imaging, nuclear scintigraphic imaging, positron emission tomography, x-ray imaging or any combination thereof.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the medical image workstation simulates a proprietary workstation for displaying diagnostic-quality digital medical images.
16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of providing in real-time to the user the plurality of navigational images for display in the user interface while the patient is undergoing the medical imaging procedure.
17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of providing in real-time to the user the one or more digital medical images for display in the user interface while the patient is undergoing the medical imaging procedure.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user navigation of medical images is performed on the Internet.
19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user navigation of medical images is performed on the Intranet.